Hong Kong overnight visitor spending dropped 37% during 2023 and will fall further to 2019 levels, Tourism Board says

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said he hoped a raft of measures unveiled to boost the industry in the city’s latest budget would encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more.

A monthly pyrotechnic show set to begin as early as May was meant to “enrich tourists’ experiences”, for example.

“We are not trying to attract a lot of tourists just by relying on the monthly shows,” Yeung said at a post-budget press briefing, adding that he did not believe visitors would come just to watch the pyrotechnics.

Hong Kong’s visitor arrivals ‘to hit 70% of pre-pandemic levels by end of 2024’

“But if you combine it with the whole package of other offerings, it may prompt an extra night of stay, or stay longer for dinner before leaving.”

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has said each monthly pyrotechnic show will cost about HK$1 million and authorities will seek private sector sponsorships.

The latest Tourism Board statistics and estimates showed the average per capita spending of overnight visitors in 2023 decreased from the HK$9,700 per-trip level in the first quarter to HK$7,400 in the second quarter, HK$6,200 in the third, before landing at HK$6,100 in the final quarter.

The board said visitors were spending more last year, especially as those coming during the first few months of the border reopening mostly came to visit family, opting to stay longer and splash out.

The border between mainland China and Hong Kong fully reopened in February last year, following three years of strict pandemic-related controls.

Same-day visitor spending remained mostly flat throughout last year, at HK$1,200 per capita in the first quarter, HK$1,300 in the second, HK$1,400 in the third and HK$1,300 in the fourth. But the full-year HK$1,300 average was lower than the HK$2,000 level in pre-pandemic 2019.

Hong Kong welcomed 33.9 million visitors last year, about 52 per cent of the levels in 2018, with the retail sector reporting lower-than-expected spending power by tourists, especially those from the mainland.

Chan’s budget, released on Wednesday, showed authorities expected about 46 million visitors in 2024, 35 per cent higher than last year or 70 per cent of the city’s peak in 2018.

Hong Kong sets aside HK$1.09 billion in drive for more tourism events

Separately on Friday, the Census and Statistics Department revealed retail sales grew 0.9 per cent year on year in January to HK$36.5 billion.

The government noted retail sales tended to show greater volatility throughout the first two months of a year due to the timing of Lunar New Year.

The finance chief has said private consumption expenditure and overall investment increased in 2023, supported by government initiatives and rising household incomes, while the return of tourists contributed to notable growth in exports of travel and transport services.

He has anticipated gradual declines in interest rates and the revival of global demand despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and vulnerabilities in the world economy.

Hong Kong’s focus on high-quality development, integration with national strategies and cultivation of new growth areas would contribute to its long-term growth momentum with the economic outlook forecasting an average annual real growth rate of 3.2 per cent from 2025 to 2028, he said.